With the arrival of Hades 2, fans of the acclaimed indie studio Supergiant Games are treated to a whole new dimension of quality roguelike action goodness.
Core fans will no doubt have already played and dusted these artistic masterpieces, from their debut offering Bastion to the underrated Pyre.
Here’s a ranked list of all the titles released by Supergiant Games – but make no mistake: all of these are masterfully crafted titles, and even the “worst” entry deserves your attention due to the sheer passion and creativity shining through them.
Ranking each Supergiant Games release so far
4) Pyre
Perhaps the least known Supergiant Games offering out there, Pyre was the last game before the studio was ushered into the mainstream spotlight thanks to Hades. The 2017 fantasy game is a hybrid of action-adventure and sports. The narrative pits you in the role of the Reader, one of those exiled to a banished land.
With fundamental gameplay being little more than high-fantasy football, you must utilize each hero’s unique strengths, like agility or power to overcome challenging adversaries. While it is the least popular entry among the Supergiant fandom, it is nevertheless a great pickup for gamers wanting something unique.
3) Bastion
The very first game crafted by Supergiant Games, this colorful, hand-drawn adventure is where it all began. Bastion tells the heart-wrenching tale of the city of Caelondia recovering from an apocalyptic event known as the Calamity.
Splitting the region into floating pieces, you control the Kid who must recover Cores to set up the titular bastion in the face of the catastrophe’s aftermath.
While players will set up new structures and meet new people over the fractured levels, it is otherwise a fairly straightforward isometric hack & slash. The Kid will have access to a variety of unique weapons and tools throughout the game’s story, from a longbow and carbine to a flamethrower and mortar. Mastering them is key to surviving the linear set pieces where a variety of beasts and enemies thwart the protagonist’s progress.
If newcomers are looking for a game to start their Supergiant Games journey, then Bastion is their first stop of short-but-sweet narrative goodness.
2) Transistor
Perhaps the most unique entry on this list, Transistor from Supergiant Games is completely new territory for both the studio and their fans. Unlike other offerings, this 2014 game is a sci-fi tale set in the virtual realm of Cloudbank.
You control Red, a singer who has had her voice stolen after the city was overtaken by a virus threat called the Process.
Armed with the titular talking sword, Red must make her way through the barren streets and desolate locales in pursuit of the sinister group called the Camerata. Due to its show-rather-than-tell nature, Transistor is the least engrossing and consistent narrative experience from Supergiant Games but makes up for it in every other way.
From the rich atmosphere to the strategic real-time/turn-based hybrid combat utilizing various Function abilities to take down threats, the spectacle never stops over its 5-7 hour duration.
1) Hades
After spending a couple of years in Early Access, Hades launched in 2020 to universal acclaim. This brutal action roguelike sees Zagreus, Prince of the Greek Underworld seek to return to the surface to meet his mother in the mortal realm.
To accomplish this, he must quite literally fight his way through several layers of hell across Tartarus, the realm of the dead overseen by his father Hades. Aside from the wrath of a cold-hearted parent, Zagreus will meet many different denizens of the underworld, from monsters that seek to impede his travels to helpful NPCs like Achilles and Sisyphus.
He will be aided by a variety of gods from the Greek Pantheon, like Zeus, Ares, Demeter, and more each granting him buffs and abilities on his runs. The action gameplay is incredibly challenging, so players must ensure to minimize mistakes and optimize their builds to even see the harshest challenges and boss fights through.
Hades 2 is currently out via Early Access on Steam and players can buy the game early to support Supergiant Games.
